25 Under 35 MVPs: Attorney, Architect, Fundraiser

25 Under 35 MVPs: Attorney, Architect, Fundraiser

Sponsored By:Josh Medore

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — As the 26 nominees for this year’s 25 Under 35 awards sat in the front of a packed room filled family, friends and colleagues, videos started playing to announce the three winners of the MVP award.

The videos featured words from co-workers and friends who talked about the nominees’ personalities, what they’ve accomplished and what it’s like to know them. For some, the experience created more stress than was apparent to the audience.

“It was stressful to sit up there. Your name is never said but you start to pick up clues from the people in the video and what they’re saying,” said Paul Hagman, principal of RBF CoLab Architecture and Design. “You realize, ‘They’re talking about me. I think. But I don’t want to jump to conclusions. It’s presumptuous. You just slowly work it out in your head until they say your name. It is stressful, but overall it’s fun.”

Hagman, along with Lorilyn Shandor, gift planning and campaign planner for Park Vista of Youngstown, and Maggie Adams, an attorney and trust officer for Farmers Trust Co., were named this year’s MVPs.

“The three MVPs have really excelled in the community engagement side of things. All nominees are scored on a points system and the three MVPS are those that score the highest. We score on academics, community engagement, volunteering and professional accolades,” says Jonathon Fauvie, chairman of this year’s 25 Under 35. “The three MVPs are simply the top three.”

This year, more than 80 applications were submitted to the organization, something Fauvie attributes to the Mahoning Valley’s successful 2014.

“2014 was a good year for a lot of organizations and it was good for the Valley. When we have high years, we have more people to recognize,” he explained. “These 26 people [this year there was tie, thus 26 nominees] are truly the movers and shakers. They’re the people behind the scenes that you don’t see. They put in countless hours of volunteer work, countless hours of doing everything they can to develop a brighter future.”

The three winners agreed that none of the nominees ever did what they did to win awards like this. In his speech, Hagman made reference to a Greek proverb that societies grow great when old men plant olive trees whose shade they will never sit in.

“It’s always good to get recognized. You never do it for the recognition. You do it because it needs to be done,” Shandor said. “Thinking back to the people who were recognized in the early years, people like Jay Williams and Phil Kidd, to be grouped among them is pretty amazing. It’s nice to see young people making a difference and lead the charge to move our city forward.”

And, all agreed, this year’s class of nominees is a talented group who have done a lot for the city.

Hagman has done work with Fellows Riverside Gardens and the Rocky Ridge Neighborhood Association and serves on the board for the Raymond John Wean Foundation. Shandor is the curator of TEDx Youngstown, a member of the Youngstown Rotary and the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals. Meanwhile, Adams is a volunteer firefighter in Poland, a member of the Junior League of Youngstown and part of the Stambaugh Auditorium finance committee.

“There are so many great members of our community, that it’s an honor to be among all of these young professionals,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of excitement that’s building on itself that will carry Youngstown into the future.”

Pictured: MVPs Maggie Adams, Paul Hagman and Lorilyn Shandor.

Copyright 2015 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.

Copyright 2018 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.

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